Area reducer for storage chambers



Dec. 22, 1936. ZNANOV.

AREA REDUCER FOR STORAGE CHAMBERS Filed July 8, 1953 2 Sheets-Sheet lDec. 22, 1936'. u. ZIVANOV AREA REDUCER FOR STORAGE CHAMBERS 2Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed July 8, 1933 Patented Dec. 22, 1936 UNETE staresPATENT @E'FECE AREA REDUCER FOR STORAGE CHAMBERS Uros Zivanov,Washington, D. 0.

Application July 8, 1933, Serial No. 679,564

7 Claims.

The present invention relates to means or devices for use in connectionwith chambers or receptacles normally designed to removably receiveother containers or articles of substantially the 5 same area ordimension as the interior dimensions of said chamber, said means ordevices being removable or insertable in the chamber and having fortheir purpose to reduce the area of said chamber in such a manner thatcontainers or articles 10 of smaller size may be properly fitted,supported and maintained in said chamber.

More specifically, the present invention is particularly adapted for usein connection with the wells or storage chambers or compartments of icecream cabinets, which latter are usually constructed to have a coolingmedium surrounding said wells such as ice, brine or other refrigeratingmeans. It is customary for these wells to be made of diiierent standardsizes to receive, for

instance, a five or ten gallon can of ice cream. The dimensions of thewells are such that the can rests directly upon the bottom of the wellwith its upper opened end spaced slightly from the upper end of the welland its sides spaced slightly from the sidewalls of the well, for thepurpose of permitting convection circulation of the air within the well.Generally considered, the wells are designed to removably fit a certainstandard sized can in order that the can will be properly positionedtherein without permitting undue lateral play of the can between thewalls of the well when the ice cream is scooped or otherwise dispensedfrom the open end of the well.

Since it is the custom for purveyors of ice cream to keep a variety ofkinds and flavors for their patrons, it is also customary for these icecream cabinets to be made with a plurality of Wells to accommodate aplurality of kinds or flavors of ice cream. Such purveyors of ice creamvery frequently find, after acquiring a cabinet of a particular size andat considerable cost, that, due to economic or trade conditions, theycannot dispose of such quantity of cream for which their cabinets aredesigned to contain before the ice cream 45 falls and becomesnon-salable, although they find it an imperative necessity to maintain avariety of ice creams. Consequently, a great waste and financial lossresults. This condition could be largely remedied and a saving obtained,if the 59 dispensers of ice cream could purchase, say instead of fivegallon cans (which fit their cabinet), two or three gallons of eachvariety; but, such smaller containers of ice cream would not fit thewells of their cabinet, are too far down into the 05 well and shiftaround in the well, when the ice cream is being scooped therefrom, in amanner which is injurious to the well and generally inconvenient andundesirable in the dispensing of the cream.

It is therefore the object of the present inven- 'f5 tion to provide areducing or adapting means which is insertable into the wells of icecream cabinets and having an exterior dimension such as will normallyfit a well of determined size, and which will have an interior dimensionof a size'l o which will receive an ice cream can or other article ofsmaller size so that the upper or opened end of the container will beadjacent the upper or opened end of the Well and which will prevent theshifting or moving-around of said ice cream con- 15 tainer in said wellduring the scooping or dispensing of the cream therefrom.

Another object of the invention is the provision of a reducing oradapting means of the above stated character, which will permit the freecir- 20 culation of the cold air in the well and, when the top or upperend of the well is covered, permitting the cold air to circulate acrossand into the upper portion of the ice cream container to harden orpreserve the hardness of its contents. 25

Another object of the invention is the provision of adapting or reducingmeans of the above stated character which are capable of adjustment soas to be useful with cans of various sizes.

With the above and other objects in view, some 30 of which will bespecifically defined and others obvious from the following description,the invention further resides in the sundry details of construction,combination and arrangement of parts hereinafter more fully describedand pointed out 35 in the appended claims.

In the drawings, which show the invention in several embodiments:

Figure 1 is a vertical sectional view through a well or chamber of anice cream cabinet or the 40 like, equipped with the present invention;

Figure 2 is a plan view of the adapting or reducing means shown inFigure 1, the ice cream can being indicated in dotted lines;

Figure 3 is a perspective view of the reducer or adapting means shown inFigure 1;

Figure 4. is a fragmentary detailed view of a lower portion of theadapter or reducer showing the adjustability of the bottom support orrest;

Figure 5 is a View similar to Figure 1, showing the cabinet Wellequipped with a modified form of reducer or adapter;

Figure 6 is a top plan view of the reducer or adapter shown in Figure 5;

Figure 7 is a view similar to Figure 5, showing a still further modifiedform of reducer or adapter;

Figure 8 is a top plan view of the adjustable bottom support of theadapter shown in Figure 7 Figure 9 is a fragmentary sectional viewshowing a still further modified form of the upper end of the reducer oradapter shown either in Figure '7 or Figure 1.

Referring particularly to Figures 1 to 4 of the drawings, H1 designatesthe well or chamber usually found in the standard type of ice creamcabinets or any like receptacle. This well It is usually surrounded byany cooling medium, and has a bottom H and opened upper end I2, to whichis fittedly applied a lid or cover l3 which is removed when it isdesired to gain access to the contents of the ice cream can M. This wellill, say for instance, is designed to receive and retain a five galloncan of ice cream. The can M shown in the drawings is, say, a threegallon can of ice cream, and is properly supported with its upper end Maadjacent the open end l2 of the well Hi, and also spaced from thesidewalls and bottom thereof by the reducing or adapting device l5 ofthe present invention.

The construction of the device l5, shown in Figures 1 to l, ispreferably a frame comprising a pair of spaced annular members a. and bhaving an overall diameter of approximately that of the interiordiameter of the well ill so that there will be a sliding fittherebetween. These spaced rings are connected by a plurality ofelongated guide strips of stiff material c, either fibre, metal or thelike, suitably spaced around the rings. The interior diameter of thering a, at least, is considerably greater than the diameters of the icecream can M with which the device is designed to be used, so that therewill be an air space between the inner edge of the ring a and the outersurface of the can, as indicated by the arrow Figure 1. The strips 0,however, are preferably, but not necessarily, positioned with respect toeach other and the rings a and b as to have a sliding fit with thesidewalls of the can I4.

The lower end portion of the reducing device I5 is provided with asupport d upon which the bottom of the ice cream can will rest. Thissupport may be stationary or it may be vertically adjustable, in anymanner. In this form of the invention the support is shown as attachedto the strips 0 and adjustable along their lengths to I accommodate cansof vary depths and hold them up adjacent the open end l2 of the wellill. For the purpose of the present disclosure, this adjustability ofthe support (1 consists in providing a series of vertical spacedopenings g in the strips 0 adjacent their lower end portions, throughwhich bolts or other fastening members 6 extend and also engage insuitable openings 1 in the turned down end portions of the support d.Should it become desirable to use this reducer I5 with, say, two gallonice cream cans instead of a three gallon can, the strips e may be bent,at the point X, to lie further inwardly of the rings a and b, and therest at may be raised correspondingly by adjusting the bolts e in theopenings g. It is, of course, readily understood that the ring b may beomitted from the construction, but it is found that by providing it amore sturdy construction may be obtained and the lower ends of thestrips 0 will not become so readily bent or distorted in ordinary usage.

Manifestly, the present device will serve as a reducer for the wells ofice cream cabinets and the like, and will support ice cream cans ofsmaller size than the wells are originally designed for, in properposition spaced from the side and bottom walls of the well and adjacentthe top of the latter, while at the same time permitting freecirculation of the convection air currents between the sidewalls of thewell and the can, and further permitting this cold air to circulate overand into the top of the can for keeping the contents of the can at thetop thereof cold or hardened. It is also obvious that when it is desiredto use the wells in connection with ice cream cans of the sizes forwhich they are originally designed, the reducer may be removed and againreplaced as desired, thereby overcoming a disadvantage and inconveniencenow existing and supplying a needed want.

In Figure 5, a modified form of reducing device l5a has been shown whichmay be of a unitary structure formed of any suitable material, such asfibre, papier mach, metal or the like, and may be molded or cast. Thisdevice is of a general cylindrical shape adapted to fit a'standard sizedwell of a storage cabinet, such as an ice cream cabinet, and has aninterior chamber of a dimension to accommodate and removably receive asmaller sized canof ice cream. It will also be observed that the reduceri 5a of this form of the invention has its intermediate portion reduced,as at h, so as to form an air space between the sidewalls of the welland the container. This intermediate portion is also slotted or cut awayat portions around its circumference to permit the cold air in the airspace It to contact with the sidewalls thereof. In this form of theinvention, the upper end portion of the device l5a is notched or cutaway, as at 2', so as to permit the circulation of the cold air over andinto the upper end of the ice cream container Illa.

The form of the invention shown in Figures 7 and 8 is substantiallyidentical with the form of the invention shown in Figures 1 to 4,inclusive, except that the ice cream can support (1 is made separatelyand independent from the side spacing frame consisting of the top ring aand the side strips 0 This support consists ofa fiat supporting memberhaving depending legs Z, each of which are formed of two sections andvertically adjustable by means of bolts k, which extend through a seriesof vertical openings in the adjacent ends of said leg sections.

In Figure 9, the reducing device I50 may be either of the form shown inFigures 1 to 4, inclusive, and Figures 7 and 8, but the top spacing ringa thereof may be of substantially the same diameter as the exteriordiameter of the ice cream can No, so as to permit a sliding fittherebetween; and, in which event, the spacing ring a is provided withan annular series of openings m which permit the cold air from the lowerwell portion In to circulate across and into the upper end of the icecream can Me.

From the foregoing it will be observed that novel means have beenprovided for adapting old ice cream cabinets and other storage devicesfor use with other containers and articles of smaller size, and forproperly and conveniently holding them in position while permitting theproper circulation of air therearound; and that this novel means may beinserted and removed from the chamber or well at will, according to thedesires and requirements of the user.

In this specification and the annexed drawings, the invention isdisclosed in the form in which it is considered to be the best, but theinvention is not limited to such form because it is capable of beingembodied in other forms; and it is to be understood that in and by theclaims following the description herein it is intended to cover theinvention in whatever form it may be embodied within the scope thereof.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed as new, is:

1. An adapter for supporting containers of smaller size in storagechambers normally adapted to receive containers of large size, saidadapter comprising end members spaced from each other by side members,one of the end members having its outer dimension substantially equal tothat of the interior of the storage chamber, said end member having aninner dimension substantially equal to that of the container, wherebythe container when placed in said adapter may be supported in saidStorage chamber against substantial sidewise movement with respectthereto.

2. An adapter for supporting containers of smaller size in cylindricalstorage chambers normally adapted to receive cylindrical containers oflarger size, said adapter comprising annular end members spaced fromeach other by side members, one of the end members having its outerdiameter substantially equal to that of the interior of the storagechamber, and said end member having an inner diameter substantiallyequal to that of the container, whereby the container when placed insaid adapter may be supported in said storage chamber againstsubstantial sidewise movement with respect thereto, and a supportpositioned on said side members intermediate the end members forsupporting the base of the container.

3. An adapter for supporting containers of relatively small depth instorage chambers normally adapted to receive containers of a depthsubstantially equal to that of the storage chamber, said adaptercomprising end members spaced from each other by side members, and asupport positioned on said side members by adjustable attaching meansintermediate the end members for supporting the base of the container,whereby the base support may be changed in position to accommodatecontainers of varying depth.

4. In combination, a cabinet having a well for receiving a container ofstandard size, and an adapter in said cabinet well for holding acontainer of less than standard size therein, said adapter comprisingend members spaced from each other by side members, one of the endmembers having its outer dimension substantially equal to that of theinterior of the storage chamher, said end member having an innerdimension substantially equal to that of the container, whereby thecontainer when placed in said adapter may be supported in said storagechamber against substantial sidewise movement with respect thereto.

5. In combination, a cabinet having a well for receiving a container ofstandard size, and an adapter in said cabinet well for holding acontainer of less than standard size therein, said adapter comprisingend members spaced from each other by side members, and a supportpositioned on said side members by adjustable attaching meansintermediate the end members for supporting the base of .the container,whereby the base support may be changed in position to accommodatecontainers of varying depth, and. whereby the container when placed insaid adapter may be supported in said storage chamber againstsubstantial sidewise movement with re spect thereto.

6. In combination, a refrigerating ice cream cabinet having a well forreceiving an ice cream container of standard size, and an adapter insaid cabinet well for holding an ice cream container of less thanstandard size, said adapter including annular end members spaced fromeach other by side members, one of the end members having its outerdimension substantially equal tothat of the interior of the cabinetwell, and said end member having an inner diameter substantially equalto that of the smaller size container, whereby the container when placedin said adapter may be supported in said storage chamber againstsubstantial sidewise movement with respect thereto, and a support forthe base of the container positioned within said well above the floorthereof and intermediate the ends of the adapter, said support havinglegs of adjustable length for varying the position of the base supportwith respect to the floor of the well.

'7. In combination, a refrigerating ice cream cabinet having a well forreceiving an ice cream container of standard size, and an adapter insaid cabinet well for holding an ice cream container of less thanstandard size, said adapter including an end member and legs on said endmember for positioning the latter at substantially the mouth or" thewell, and a base support in said well for supporting the base of thecontainer of less than standard size, said base support includingadjustable supporting members for varying the height thereof to vary theposition of the base support with respect to the floor of the well.

UROS ZIVANOV.

